Closure for containing vessels



A. D. SMITH.

CLOSURE FOR CONTAINING VESSELS.

v APPLICATION FILED MAY'I5,1920- 1,420,768. Patented June 27, 1922.

'FIEI FIB. II

1TB III earn stars ARTHUR D.

SMITH, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL SEAL COMPANY,

INC., OF NEVI YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW CLOSURE FOR CONTAININGVESSELS.

Application filed May 15,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR D. SMITH, acitizen of the United States, residing at Portland, county ofCumberland, State of Maine, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in'Closures for Containing Vessels, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to closures for containing vessels, andparticularly to a metallic closure adapted to hermetically seal vesselscontaining highly volatile preparations which rapidly deteriorate uponcontact with the atmosphere. In such closures it is customary to employa fibrous pack which is adapted to be compressed over the mouth of theclosure in the application of the closure to the vessel.

This pack has been usually glued in position within the cap, and beforethe pack could be applied, it was necessary to remove the film of palmoil or other protective agent with which the sheet metal caps have beentreated. This was usually done by washing the sheet metal in a solutionof hot water and caustic soda and then drying in suitable driers. Thewashing and drying steps not only involve a loss of time and labor, butwhere the cap is insufliciently dried the dampness soon penetrates theglued pack, causing the paper of the pack to bulge and producing anelement of uncertainty of seal. Moreover, the varying conditions oftemperature in the factory itself affect the glued paper pack, causingshrinkage or expansion.

To the end therefore of eliminating the use of the glued pack I havedevised my present invention in which the pack is positively held inplace by the formation of the cap itself. My invention not only avoidsthe use of glue but obviates the necessity of washing and drying thecaps to remove the surface film, thus eliminating those factors whichmade for loss of time, and uncertainty of seal. In carrying out my1nvention I positively retain the pack in posltion by a reduction of theinternal diameter of the cap itself whereby to lock the pack therein.

As illustrative of my invention I have shown in somewhat exaggeratedscale in the Specification of'Letters Patent. Patented June 27, 1922.

1920. Serial'No. 381,584.

accompanying drawings a. cap and interlocked pack, constructed inaccordancewith my invention. ,In the drawings:

Fig. I is an enlarged section showing the cap before the pack has beeninterlocked therein, and

Fig. II shows the cap after the pack has been interlocked therein byslightly reducing the skirt of the seal, the reducing opera-. tion beingindicated diagrammatically by the arrows A in said figure, and

Fig. III is an enlarged detail particularly illustrating the interlockof a cap and pack.

My invention may be performed as a sin gle and continuous operation asdistinguished from the several operations and intervals of washing anddrying, which characterize the use of the glued pack.

The closure or seal consists of a cap having a top surface 1 which isdrawn about its periphery to provide an annular depending skirt or rim 2having integral lugs or fingers 8 adapted for interlocking engagementwith the vessel to position the seal over the mouth thereof. The pack 4which may be of paper, or other fibrous composition, is adapted to beinserted against the inner face of the top surface 1 and in its finalcondition to snugly fit within the annular skirt 2 of the cap, beinginterlocked therewith.

In carrying out my invention the skirt 2 is drawn with an internaldiameter slightly larger than the maximum external diameter of the packI so that the pack may be readilyv inserted within the cap, as appearsin enlarged section, Fig. I.

In practice the difference in diameters need be only a fewten-thousandths of an inch. The pack is then inserted within the skirt2, and the skirt reduced down as far as the outer face of the pack (seedotted line showing of Fig. III) torestore the skirt to substantiallyits original or intended diameter, as indicated in Fig- II, wherein thearrows 'A diagrammatically represent the reducing operation. Thisreducing operation clamps the pack snugly in place within the cap, asclearly shown in Fig. III, wherein the pack and skirt are shown asinterlocked cap which is compressed into the inner face of the pack (seeFig. 111) and assists to prevent dislodgement of the pack from the cap.

Various modifications in the form and construction of my closure mayobviously be resorted to Within the limits of the appended claims.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A metallic cap having an annular groove in its marginal top surface,and a compressible pack abutting the entire inner face of the cap top,said cap having a normal maximum internal diameter slightly greater thanthe normal maximum external diameter of the pack, said cap beingslightly reduced eircumferentially opposite the edge of said pack toyieldingly clamp the rim of the pack between the cap and said groove.

2. A metallic cap having an annular peripheral groove in its top surfaceand having a pendent skirt a compressible pack abutting the entire innerface of the cap top, said skirt having a normal maximum internaldiameter slightly greater than the normal maximum external diameter ofthe pack, said skirt being slightly reduced circumferentially oppositethe edges of said pack to yieldingly clamp the rim of the pack betweenthe skirt and said groove.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ARTHUR D. SMITH.

